Hungary’s Ministry of Agriculture believes that keeping Hungarian agriculture GMO-free is a matter of “extremely high strategic importance.” In fact, Hungary’s Constitution states that:

Hungary shall promote the effective application of the right referred to in Paragraph (1) by an agriculture free of genetically modified organisms, by ensuring access to healthy food and drinking water, by organising safety at work and healthcare provision, by supporting sports and regular physical exercise, as well as by ensuring the protection of the environment.

The European Parliament voted in January 2015 that member states who wish to ban cultivation of GMOs would be able to. Over the years, Hungary has worked diligently to protect its sovereignty for fears of metaphorically being “swallowed by a large predatory fish,” i.e., the United States.

Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000’s of acres of corn found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar.

Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.

“Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been planted with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said.

Hungary, in 2013, finally kicked out the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from its country. In July it announced its plans to repay the IMF bailout and for it to vacate the Budapest office. By August the same year, the Central European country had indeed arranged early payment of the loan.